Stranded
by Harkenul
Summary: Lost during the fight with Leliel, a missing Shinji returns home, bringing with him a new face and new toys.


**Chapter One - I'll Keep Coming.**

_Facts__ do not exist. Only interpretations. - Nietzsche._

"SHINJI! NOOOO!"

Misato shrieked, unable to do anything but watch as the Angel blinked out of existence, taking Shinji and Unit-01 with it. Where it was now, it didn't matter. For all she knew, he was gone. Dead. Forever.

"Both Unit-01 and the Angel...have vanished," quietly mumbled Ritsuko, stunned at what had just happened. "Life s-support readings for the Third h-have dropped," murmured Maya. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Pilots weren't supposed to die. He can't be dead, he can't, she thought.

They were just kids.

"He's gone." Makoto whimpered, afraid of the implications. One less pilot...gave the Angels total victory. Shinji was their best pilot. If he was dead, what chance did they even have at winning?

"Oh, god." Aoba could only freak out internally, his hands gripped tightly on his head. Sweat dripped down his forehead. Game over. The Angels won.

"Ikari...no…" Rei froze, unable to either scream or cry. Her first friend...gone. And she was helpless to save him.

"He's...no, No! Where is he!? Where's Shinji!? Where are you, baka, huh?!" Asuka panicked, having lost Shinji in her grip. Stupid Shinji! How _dare_ he play hero! How _dare_ he save her! Now ...now! Now he's gone!

Far away from the worries and cries of those down below, two old men stewed in anxiety in their glass box.

"Gendo, the Third Child is gone. Yui is gone! Our key to Third Impact is gone! SEELE has just reported the Scrolls as nothing more than ashes!"

Fuyustuki shouted, quite out of character.

"Sir, what happened?!"

The Commander continued to stare at where Unit-01 should have been, his golden-red glare piercing through the monitors. His eyes locked on to the fading parts of the beast's shadow, tossed to the wind, like leaves in the breeze. All those painful years worth of research and development. All those years without his wife. All those missed years without his son. All gone.

"The old men need an answer, Ikari! What now?"

Gendo took in a long breath, and removed his glasses.

"I don't know. I honestly don't know."

-

Elsewhere, a lonely pool of water began to shake in the dirty alleys of Tokyo-3. Back and forth, rippling in itself, until the absence of water formed within water. Molecules being torn apart and rearranging until "VOID" was formed. This "VOID" was the very manifestation of nothing, the pure potential of life itself. The stuff that gave the universe life. What allowed for the birth and death and rebirth of stars. The miracle that allowed for evolution, and a higher meaning beyond even that.

Pure, untamed nothingness.

And out of that nothing a pod was born and spat out, violently smashing into the concrete, sending debris flying everywhere, into the street, the buildings, and the road. Usually, this would be met with a curious mob of people, but the streets were empty, as everyone had evacuated to shelters.

With a hiss, the doors opened up as steam gushed out from within. Gloved white hands gripped the frame, and with a quick heave, emerged the pilot. He dwarfed the average man, standing a good six heads above average height. From top to bottom, he was covered in white thick protective armor, a strange fusion of a Greek soldier, a knight, and an astronaut. If anything, he looked like the Michelin man...if he decided to become a Lunar Knight.

The astronaut merely stared at the city he once knew, flickering off his visor to do so. Black outlines of a diorama shifted from a digital world to the real one in his eyes, loading block by block.

Tokyo-3. A fortress he once protected many years ago. A place that was never really his to protect, but one he guarded anyway. No one else could do it alone. It wasn't perfect...but it was home. A real physical place. A real home. With real food. Real friends. Real connections.

And he was back. And it was real.

His precious cargo giggled and cooed from within his ivory shell, rousing him from his nostalgic thoughts. The man looked from behind his helmet at where his womb used to be, and grinned.

"Think we should visit some old friends? It's been a long, long time."

_Gah!_

"I'll take that as a yes."

A handwave pulled his other cargo out from inside the pod, and onto the ground beneath his feet. A suitcase, doubling as a handbag and a metal backpack. And a spear, which could also serve as a digital flag.

One snap of his fingers, and the pod shrunk to a grape's size, which he tossed inside his steel sack.

Inside were other tiny trinkets, toys, and collectables from a lifetime's worth of playing the same games over and over again. A bandana. A green army blazer. A leather jacket. Patches from various PMCs. A baby rattle. Shades. A flashlight. Several swords and rifles. A tiny version of himself.

And a tiny Unit-01. And that wasn't even all of them.

_Now's not the time for strolling down memory lane. We have business to settle first. It's not right to make them worry any longer. Who knows how long I've been missing? Days, months, years?_

_Gah! Mmph._

_Right__, right, don't panic. That's for later._

_Hmm._

"You wanna fly and scare everyone there?"

_Goo_.

"You're no fun, kid. More walking it is, your highness."

_Hee!_

With a warm tug in his heart, he strapped his belongings on (a mere thick briefcase of supplies) and continued his journey back, leaving behind nothing but his footprints.

_Time to make one last delivery._

Deep below NERV, in the bowels of Terminal Dogma, Lilith stirred in confusion, shock...and excitement. Who was this stranger? And why did he feel like one of her children?

The Rei clones laughed and smiled as they stared at the ceiling, eyes following exactly where the newcomer stepped, despite the length that separated them. He could be fun to play with.

Miles away, a silver haired boy smiled. The game had changed once more.

"You really do amaze me, don't you, Shinji?

-

**_Kept you waiting, huh? Sorry it took so long. I might update more often. We'll have to wait and see._**


End file.
